French researchers have found that it is possible to write code specifically geared for processors.

Now, according to an article in Security Dark Reading, malware appears to have a new target: hardware. Apparently, French researchers have found that it is possible to write code specifically geared for processors. The article stated:

Anthony Desnos, Robert Erra, and Eric Filiol, of Ecole Superieure d'Informatique Electronique Automatique (ESIEA) in Paris, have developed a proof-of-concept for hardware-specific malware, which they consider a step up from Stuxnet and a potentially key weapon in cyberwarfare. The malware can easily identify and target specific hardware systems based on the on-board processor chip, the researchers say.

However this technique isn't quite as fine-grained yet as malware attackers might want. The researchers admit that their identification techniques cannot pin-point particular processors, however they say that such an attack could "enable far more precise and targeted attacks, at a finer level in a large network of heterogeneous machines but with generic malware".

It's a situation that we'll definitely have to keep an eye on.

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